The Movement for Black Lives is organizing the protest, along with the International Union of Service Employees (SEIU), the Fight for $ 15 and a Union, the Campaign for the Poor and other labor defense organizations.
“Blacks are dying, black communities are at risk and workers of all races have had enough,” said Mary Kay Henry, president of SEIU, which represents nearly 2 million service workers, in a statement. “With the strike for black lives, we are uniting the interconnected struggles for racial and economic justice.”
Government leaders are also joining the strike, including Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, who said he would join a rally outside the Trump International Hotel.
A McDonald’s worker in Fort Lauderdale, Florida says she was forced to quarantine without sick leave for two weeks after testing positive for Covid-19.
“When I told McDonald’s that someone I had been in contact with tested positive for Covid-19 and had also tested positive, the manager said, ‘Get out of my store and don’t come back,'” Deatric Edie said. “It is very frustrating to be treated like nothing, because I work hard.”
“We are confident that the vast majority of employees are covered by sick pay if affected by COVID-19,” a McDonald’s spokesman said in a statement to CNN Business. “To show even more appreciation, franchisees have awarded bonuses and increases to employees and have provided additional financial and health resources.”
CNN Business’s Chauncey Alcorn contributed reports.
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